In one particularly notable passage near the beginning of the story, Oliver Bacon looks down admiringly at his perfect trousers, his boots, and his spats. All of them were made in Saville Row by the finest tailors and cobblers that money can buy. This is clearly a man for whom sartorial elegance is very important indeed. But then it has to be if he's to move in the right social circles. Even if he doesn't hail from an authentic upper-class background, he can still give the appearance of being a member of the social elite. And to do that, he needs to look the part.

Woolf makes copious references to Oliver's clothing. As well as his elegant trousers and boots, as we've just seen, she mentions the pearl in his tie, his "smart blue overcoat," and his "yellow gloves and his cane." Through her precise choice of words, Woolf paints a detailed portrait of a man for whom appearance is everything.

A shallow, superficial individual, Oliver can only express himself through the outward trappings of his enormous wealth, most notably through fashionable, expensive clothing. It make sense, then, for Woolf to give us such a detailed description of what Oliver wears and how incredibly important it makes him feel.